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Compilation Appearances Volume One Lycia |
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"From Foam…" the vocal less beginning track has this sort of relaxing tone to it-a lucid quality built of synth-based melody and beating drums, externally free-flowing while internally turbulent and a perfect introduction to the sixteen following tracks. Firstly there's no indication as to the current status of this band as the compilation here covers select recordings drawn from actual compilation appearances-of which there must have been many-spanning the early nineties when Lycia first arrived onto the Gothic/Dark Wave scene… other expressions prove equally proficient-Electronic; Ambient; New Wave/New Age, etc. but place them right along side the likes of such past pioneers as Bauhaus, The Church, or Clan of Xymox. The material here is pegged from what were known as "The Arizona Years" and compiled from '90 -'94. The styles range somewhat but mainly fall within the expanse of Gothic, built around dark motifs and often unsettling combinations as with "Excade Decade Decada" which utilizes a dynamic rush of synthesized feedback over an insistent drum and bass rhythm, haunting in its fatal charm and very disturbing throughout. "Byzantine" sequentially follows the similar path as the preceding, plodding along in a cloudy setting, cool and damp, mesmerizing and dynamic all at once, there's less instrumental vice found here, favoring rather simple beats and overdramatic keyboard ambience that provides as full an aural presence as you're likely to find. The music contained herein is usually haunting and slow moving, dynamically woven, alternatively contrasting with anything remotely Pop while decisively desolate-there's a hollowness that rings forth effortlessly providing that ambient texture brought about earlier, nearly New Age in some instances with a much chillier quality. "The Dust Sessions" carries the last quarter of the recording, undoubtedly pulled from their earlier moments, nearly inaudible in some instances, indefinable in most-a post-modern sea of instability the precedes and evokes the brilliance from which they would soon follow-an unfounded assertion on my part that seems to equate. Lycia was or is a significant contributor to the many bands and artists who've effectively shielded themselves from the light of mainstream and remain an integral part of this rapidly moving underground culture as this first volume of previously hard to find material is indicative of. Released by Projekt Records: http://www.projekt.com/ Review by Vinnie Apicella
[va85@columbia.edu] |